Following his departure, Martínez Llosa insisted he had been “very proud” of the three-and-a-half-year period during which he believed the young talent had flourished.
Days before his exit, Real Madrid midfielder Caroline Weir, who has stepped down as captain during Rachel Corsi’s injury absence, also insisted Martinez Llosa has made his squad despite the latest setback. maintained the “honor” that had “hit so many players so hard.”
However, behind the scenes, there had been doubts within the squad for some time, perhaps since his appointment, and concerns about his team’s style of play.
The decision by midfielder Kim Little, perhaps Scotland’s greatest ever female footballer, to focus on playing for Arsenal at the age of 31 in her 140-cap international career was an early start to Martinez Llosa’s reign. It was a blow.
There were still expectations that a team built around Weir, Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert and a growing number of players exported to England and other top leagues would continue to improve.
During Martínez Llosa’s time in charge, though, he oversaw just one competitive win against a top 30 team – Austria before a shock defeat at home to the Republic of Ireland in the 2023 World Cup semi-final play-offs to end another bid. important tournament for
Ironically, Austria will be his successor’s first opponents, followed by the Netherlands and Germany, with the Nations League kicking off in February.
The final straw came after the latest defeat by a Finnish side three places down in the rankings, although the Scots’ recent fixtures against lesser opposition have shaken the relative positions while relegating Marco Saloranta’s side out of a tough League A. was going
Former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton believes the questions were always going to be asked as the Spaniard was tasked with ending his major tournament drought.
“For Pedro, it was a mixed bag,” he told BBC Scotland. For any national team manager, it’s participating in big tournaments and, when you don’t, ultimately it looks like a failure.
“In the world we live in with football, there is always the expectation that managers will lose their jobs if they don’t deliver the money expected of them.”
Crichton suggested that the SFA would be looking for “someone who can get the highest level of experience”, which would likely require a candidate to have a UEFA Pro Licence, thus ruling out a number of potential candidates. will go
“It leaves us in a state of pain going into the new year and options to find the right person quickly – and I hope the wheels are already in motion,” he said.
“It has to be someone who has experience, although not necessarily at international level – someone who is a proven winner. Bringing all the teams at the club together – I think that will be a huge part. There is and probably will be something that was overseen during Pedro’s reign.”